Two? That's odd!
by JB Arget
Summary: What would happen if Chrestomanci had two heirs, Cat Chant had some mysterious dreams, and Flavian Temple came back? Read to find out! PG for languege and plot. It's not that it's really bad, it just might be hard for a little kid to understand.
1. Eric Chant

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters (except Annie); the characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. The plot of this story does, however, belong to me.

Oh, and this story takes place 3 or 4 years after "Stealer of Souls", and **many** years after "The Lives of Christopher Chant". I hope you enjoy!

Erick Chant had always been a nervous, shy boy. Now he was growing up, he had to. Cat looked into the mirror, there were a couple of scraggly hairs growing on his chin. Cat was still having trouble with magic theory. But he was getting better, and occasionally, he went on trips with Chrestomanci, learning the ropes. Cat had actually managed to become almost **happy** at Chrestomanci castle

After much studying, Janet was given Gwendolyn's magic. She was pretty good about only using it when she needed to, and never hurt anyone. She and Julia were good friends, and as friend sometimes do, they were starting to look alike. Sure Janet had fair hair, and Julia dark, sure Janet was thin, while Julia plump, but they dressed in similar styles, and wore their hair the same.

Roger had grown too. All of his childhood fat was turning into muscle. But, he still appeared quite ordinary, with his round face and worker hands. Cat and Roger got on well too; they were actually close friends.

Cat left his room and walked down the spiral staircase, he figured that he could have a little snack before studying a little for his French exam. But just as he was about to open the door to the kitchens, he heard hushed voices.

"So tell us Flavian! What's **so** important that you had to come here in the middle of the night and drag us out of bed?"

"Quiet Michael! Let the man speak!" said Chrestomanci in a loud whisper.

"Yes Michael, let him speak, he's traveled all this way..." Cat frowned. Millie was there too?

"It has to do with the next Chrestomanci, Eric is his name, right?" said the stranger, "It is my belief that he and Gwendolyn were not the only Chant children gifted with mysterious powers."

"What do you mean? Surely not Roger and Julia..." Chrestomanci sounded indignant.

"No, no, Christopher! You are forgetting about your sister, Annabelle. Don't you remember when your mother wrote from Japan, telling you that she was pregnant?" The stranger, Flavian, sounded a little hurt by Chrestomanci's tone of voice.

"Oh yes, I always forget about her, we never met, you know." Said Chrestomanci.

"Well, I was recently on a holiday in Japan, and I decided to contact Annabelle, to see how she was getting on. And it seems, well, She was in a train accident. She's okay, physically, but it seems that she has a much lower mental capacity. She can take care of herself, but not much else. She has a daughter, your niece Christopher, who is about nine years old. The girl seems to have multiple lives, and magic that could rival even Eric's." said Flavian sadly.

"What! How can that be? **Two** Chrestomanci's!" thundered Mr. Saunders. That was when Cat decided to enter the kitchen. He kept his face as normal as possible, and feigned rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Hello, what's all the commotion about?" Cat managed to sound sleepy too. But, Chrestomanci was looking at him strangely. He could always tell when Cat was being dishonest. But, Chrestomanci seemed to choose not to expose Cat.

"Hello Eric, we were just talking about you. This is my good friend and former tutor, Flavian Temple. Flavian, this in Eric Chant, I believe you've heard about him."

"Yes, yes Christopher. Nice to meet you Eric!" said the pale, plump man with white-blonde hair, "You know, when I heard about you, I couldn't help but imagine a boy that looked just like Christopher. But, I see now that I was mistaken."

"Who's Christopher?" asked Cat, he didn't think he'd ever met anyone by that name.

"I am." Chrestomanci lifted his hand guiltily. Millie frowned, Mr. Saunders sighed.

"I'm afraid he loves his title a little **too** much." Said Millie sadly.

"Um, er, yes." Coughed Chrestomanci. "Anyway, er, Eric, what are you doing up at this hour anyway?"

Cat looked at his feet guiltily. "Umm, I thought that maybe I could have a snack, before I do some extra studying for that French test."

"Well then Cat, by all means, take a seat!" Said Mr. Saunders, making a grand, sweeping gesture with his arm. Cat sat down and together they had an amazing snack.


	2. Strange Dreams

The next morning, Cat was incredibly worried that Chrestomanci would be angry with him for lying. But, as it seemed, the enchanter had chosen to ignore Cat's dishonesty, or at least until he had a chance to speak with Cat privately. During Magic lessons, everything seemed normal.

"Eric? May I ask how you managed to turn my desk into a pig?" Chrestomanci asked when Cat made one of his worst mistakes. He had that vague look on his face, and he was smoothing out his already impeccable black hair. **Both** were signs that he was thinking.

"Umm, I'm really not sure. I was just thinking about how hungry I was, and well, the pig just showed up. I'm really sorry." Said Cat, he knew he was in trouble when Chrestomanci sighed.

"Maybe you made this mistake because you weren't concentrating, am I right Eric?" He asked, still as vague as ever.

"Umm, maybe." Said Cat, looking at the floor.

"And, maybe, just maybe, you weren't concentrating because of a certain conversation you heard last night, or was it this morning? I can never remember."

Cat was really nervous, _now I'm going to get it, _he thought. But then, before Chrestomanci could even begin his lecturing, Cat felt a peculiar pain above his right ear; he started to feel dizzy. Just before he fell to the floor he heard Chrestomanci speak, "Are you feeling alright Cat?" his voice sounded urgent.

_Then, there was swirling blue fog. From the center of the fog came the cruelest voice Cat had ever heard, "Ah, I've found you, young Chant! Come to me, **come**!" the voice soon turned oily smooth, "You are not happy, why not follow me, where you are allowed all of the pleasures of **death**! The voice turned into a hiss on the last word, and it actually **hurt**!_

Then Cat opened his eyes to find himself laying in a white room that smelled strongly of antiseptic. There were no other beds, but Roger and Janet were sitting in two chairs, one on either side of the bed.

"What happened?" asked Cat, he was really worried.

"You turned white as a ghost and fainted! Dad transported you to this hospital. He would have come, except he was called away suddenly to series five." Said Roger, he was craning his neck to see Cat's face, "What **happened** anyway?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." Answered Cat truthfully. "Did I lose a life?"

Janet answered this one, "No, thank goodness!" She was smiling rather stupidly, but Cat supposed he could forgive her; she **had** been rather worried after all.

"Dad will be in eventually, Mum's here, but she's filling out paperwork, and Michael's in the gift shop. He says he wants to get you a card. Oh, and that peculiar man that's visiting is here too. Mr. Temple, I think his name is." Roger seemed so relieved to be of help, that Cat let him rattle on, and on, and on. Cat fell asleep long before Roger finished talking.

_There was the fog again, but this time it parted, letting Cat look into a strange valley. The sky had somehow turned a lavender color, and the grass was a lovely emerald green. There was a path below Cat's feet, and it led down into the valley. Cat began whistling, his spirits lifted, and for once in his life, Cat Chant felt completely happy. _

_As he walked along the path, Cat met a little girl dressed all in black. She had long dark ringlets, and big green eyes. She carried a basket full of anemones, and had a sorrowful look on her face._

"_Please sir, will you help me? I'm lost." She said, in a voice like a thousand tinkling bells. Cat felt rather ashamed of his happiness._

"_Sure, where do you live?" To Cat's surprise, the little girl burst into tears._

"_I have no home! Not since Papa died, and Mamma left!" She screamed, scattering her flowers all around. Cat really felt he should be doing something; she was just a little girl after all._

"_Don't worry, I'll help you! I'm Cat, what's your name? I'll help you find your mother." He said, really trying to console the beautiful child._

_She sniffed, and her eyes were red. "I'm not sure, I can't remember. I'm lost! Can't you help me? I want my mother!" here she started sobbing._

_Cat was really puzzled. This little girl was very strange, or at least she wasn't like any girls Cat had ever met. How could she expect **Cat **to take care of her? Wasn't it obvious that he was just as scared as she was?_

"_Don't worry, everything will be okay, I know what it's like to feel lost." Cat was still trying to make the girl stop crying._

_The girl smiled through her tears. "You're like me, aren't you? You're lost too." She seemed overjoyed by that, and a couple of seconds later she disappeared. _

A/N Sorry about the length of this chapter! I guess I got a little carried away with my writing. Don't worry; I'll try not to let it happen again. Enjoy the story!

-J.B.


	3. Isabel

Isabel Mincherly had a tragic life. Her father died when she was very young, and her mother, Annabel, went off the deep end soon after. Her grandparents tried to keep her mother's "illness" quiet by having their daughter and granddaughter move in with them. But that only made matters worse.

It was the last straw when little Isabel came home from school one day to find her mother in the bathroom, shaving off her eyebrows. Isabel never forgot what her mother told her that day, before the accident.

"Isabel," she said, "your grandparents mean well, always remember that. They've made a **lot** of mistakes, but they love you. If they get to be too much, I have a brother you can contact. All you have to do is call out the word, (here she spoke in a whisper) Chrestomanci. Your grandparents made me like I am, and I have to leave. But Christopher, he was lucky; he got away. Now I'm going to get away too. Goodbye."

When Isabel was much older, she thought a lot about that speech, and why she remembered it. That was the only thing that her mother ever said to her that made any sense, and it was also the last time Isabel was allowed to see her mother.

It was a few days later that news reached her grandparent's house about the train accident. Her mother, it seems, was okay, but she hit her head rather hard.

Grandfather bribed officials so that they would say that Annabel's muttering was due to nothing more than the accident. But that didn't satisfy Isabel, every day she'd ask her nanny where her mother was, and if she could see her, and every day, the answer was no.

Isabel hated her grandparent's house with a passion! She was never allowed outside without her nanny. About once a week, Isabel was made to wear a frilly dress that was like a smaller version of her grandmother's, and sit through a grownup's party. At these parties, there were **always** old ladies with wigs on, saying things like, "Oh Miranda, she's such a **darling** child! She looks just like her mother! But she has her father's eye, of course.

When Isabel turned seven, her grandparents decided to send her to a very good school in England, where she would become an accomplished young lady, and eventually marry a wealthy gentleman.

The school was called Miss. Alice's Academy for Gifted Young Ladies, but most of the students called it Magal's, and the parents called it Miss. Alice's. Either way, the school was pretty bad.

The girls at Magal's always wore stiff gray skirts with starched white shirts. In the winter they wore gray coats and hats, and they went on walks every day.

On the first day of class, everyone stared and asked Isabel if she spoke Japanese, and were disappointed when she answered them in English. Then once lessons started, Isabel learned that she was miles ahead of everyone else, in almost every subject. The teacher soon found out, and Isabel was placed in a more advanced class.

Her English teacher, Miss Danielson, was delighted to see such a little girl in her class. "Oh my! Stick with me, little one, and I will mold you into an incredibly accomplished young lady!"

That was when Isabel saw her, in the back row. She was a tall girl, and her light brown hair was cut short like a boy's. She was chewing on her rubber, and was frowning at her notebook. Isabel liked her immediately.

"Hello, my name is Isabel Mincherly. Would you mind if I take this empty seat next to you?" Isabel asked with her best manners. The girl snickered.

"Be my guest. Hey, you're that girl from Japan, right? What's it like there?" The girl was frowning at the chalkboard now; her eyes were liquid brown, the color of a walnut tree.

"Oh, I don't know, I wasn't allowed out much. The gardens were pretty; we had a pond covered with water lilies. You know, that's really the only thing I miss, besides my mother of course." Said Isabel in a faraway voice.

The girl was speechless; all that she could think to do was introduce her. "My name's Carol Oneir, it's nice to meet you."

Isabel was speechless. **This** was the girl who had made nearly one hundred dreams? She was so, so, **strange**! Isabel took a closer look at Carol. This teenager was nothing like the chubby little girl whose picture was on nearly every dream bottle in the world!

"B-but how can that be? You're so, so big!" Isabel sputtered.

"Well you see it's called **growing up**. It's a process that we all have to go through you know. I don't get why my agent has to put **that** picture on **every **bottle!" Carol was laughing now, so loud in fact, that Mrs. Danielson shot the girls a dirty look.

A/N Thank you Artemis Obscure for reviewing me! Without her help, I would never have been able to rewrite this chapter, and add something to Isabel's character. See, your reviews **do** make a difference!


	4. Strange Letters

A/N I have rewritten chapter 2, so if you read the chapter before 11/1/04, I advise you to reread both chapter 2, and the end of chapter 1. This way, you can better understand what's happening now. Thank you.

-JB Van Laan

It was about a week before Christmas break when Isabel received a letter. The envelope was postmarked Japan, and the address was in scratchy lettering. Isabel quickly ripped open the envelope and read the letter.

My dearest granddaughter,

An amazing opportunity has arisen for you. I have arranged for your dear uncle Christopher to take you in over the holidays. I know that I can trust you to be at your most polite, and that you will understand if he's a bit vague. These qualities can be excused in important men, like my son. Enclosed are a train ticket and a letter from your grandmother. Remember to behave yourself, and always be polite.

Sincerely,

Cosimo Chant

Isabel quickly flipped to Grandmother's letter.

Dearest Isabel,

Oh, sometimes your grandfather can be so horrid! He never once thought about how I'd feel, fancy one not getting to see ones own granddaughter! Wasn't it bad enough to have my only daughter in such poor condition? But now, I must suffer not seeing my own granddaughter!

Do not worry Isabel, although there is no longer anything I can do about this, you need not be afraid. Christopher was a lovely boy, and he would have made a fine man one day; but a nasty old man trapped him in that castle and forced him to become a sort of policeman! It's a wonder he grew up as well as he did.

Also, I would prefer it if you did not have too much to do with Christopher's wife Millie. Sure, she will seem harmless, but she's incredibly plain, and rude! I want you to made Gramma proud, and promise me that you will never turn out like Millie!

Love,

Miranda Chant

After reading the letters, Isabel sought out Carol. This was rather important news. Was Mamma's ghost at last saving Isabel from her grandparents?


	5. Arrival

Cat, Roger, Janet, and Julia stood side by side in the large drawing room, waiting for Chrestomanci's niece to show up. The enchanter himself was making out with his wife over by the window.

"I wonder what she looks like" Whispered Janet loudly

"Oh, like Daddy I suppose. She IS his niece, after all" Answered Julia.

A little girl came running into the room. She was panting heavily, and her dark curls were mussed up. Her frilly pink dress had a rip in the back, and her face wore a panicked look.

"I'm sorry! I accidently dropped my hairbrush, and when I bent to pick it up..." she pointed to her dress. "Then the second gong rang, and my breathing went funnny, and I'M SORRY" She burst into tears.

Millie stepped forward and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's quite all right dear, really. No need to cry." She handed the girl a handkerchief.

After spending an entire dinner listening to Isabel cry (she was seated right next to him), Cat decided that he didn't really want to get to know the girl after all. She **still** seemed to think that a terrible punishment was going to come her way.

Millie, Janet, and Julia didn't help things much. They kept giving the little girl sympathetic glances. Isabel seemed to be having trouble breathing (In fact, her face was getting rather red as tears ran down her cheeks), and Chrestomanci spent all of dinner staring at her vaguely. Roger was trying to have a polite conversation with Mr. Temple, and Mr. Saunders was going on about art. In short, Cat didn't have a very pleasant supper.

Later that evening, Cat was on his way to bed when he found Isabel, huddled up in a corner, crying. He was tempted to pass right by her, but decided againt it.

"What's wrong" asked Cat crouching down to watch the tears run down her cheeks.

"Nothing." she lied"I just, miss my mama." she started sobbing again.

"Oh, I heard about your mother. Mine died five years ago. Same with my father. There was an accident." he looked at the child sadly, and for the first time she seemed interested in talking to him.

"Was it a train accident" She looked at him through the tears, eager for knowledge.

"No, they died in a ship, a steamship. My sister and I were some of the survivors." Cat was surprised to feel a tear running down his cheek. He hadn't thought about his parents or Gwendolyn for a while.

Isabel pulled Cat down into a sitting position. She put her arm around his back and cried into his shoulder. Then out of nowhere, she told him her story.


	6. Midnight Wanderings

A/N

Sorry I haven't been updating. I've been in the hospital with an appendicitis. Then there were some complications, and I had to go into surgery again. Needless to say, it's been a while since I've been able to write. It's my goal to finesh this story and make it the best it can be. This chapter takes place a few days after Isabel's arrival at Chrestomanci Castle. I'm planing to rewrite the last chapter, but please don't ask me to describe the castle from Isabel's point of view. It's my feeling that DWJ did that accurately enough in her books, and making my own version would just be repeating her descriptions. Anyway, this authors note is long enough already, so enjoy the story!

Cat shuddered under the covers in fear. His nightmares were getting steadily worse, and he didn't know why. Cat didn't like to talk about his dreams. He didn't want to worry anyone. But still, he was upset.

Cat climbed out of bed and decided to take a walk around the castle. But as he stumbled around in the dark, he heard a sound, small and helpless. Like a child whimpering in the dark. Somehow, Cat could not resist that sound!

He ran toward the noise, searching! Cat took a thousand turns, without even noticing. He was frantic! The sound got louder and louder, someone needed help! The air got dank and musty, Cat found himself running down a flight of stairs at breakneck speed. He was afraid, and yet, he couldn't stop. Someone needed him! The corridors blurred by, Cat couldn't even tell where he was!

Everything came to a shuddering halt, and Cat felt as if he'd been on a particularly fast carnival ride. He fell to the ground and vomited. Cat slowly opened his eves and looked around. He had a splittling headache, and didn't seem to be able to move. The cool stone floor felt nice against his burning forehead. All he wanted to do was sleep.

That was when Cat saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was white, and it looked like a ghost in the dark. Cat mustered up his strength and lifted his head. It was Isabel! She was laying uncontious on the floor!

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" Asked the cruelest voice that Cat had ever heard. The voice belonged to a tall man wearing foxy tweeds.

Isabel came to with a start, "Uncle Ralph? What are you doing here?"


	7. Dreamspinner

"Ah, little Isabel. I feared that you had forgotten me! But now, I see that I was wrong. I'm terribly sorry!" The tall man smiled patronizingly at the little heap of a child on the floor. Isabel was making a wheezing sound as she fought to breath.

Cat didn't know what was happening, but he felt it was his job to stop it. But how could he? He could barely move his eyes! 'Maybe.' he thought, 'maybe I should just lay here a minute.'He wanted to stop, he didn't want this responsibility! Why did everything always have to boil down to him?

"Because you're almost a Chrestomanci." Hissed Ralph, answering his thoughts. "As long as you stay in that castle, as long as you agree to that life, you will be responsible for **THIS**!" he pointed down at Isabel. The little girl was crying, trying to stand up, trying to fight.

"Ah, little Isabel, calm down. You brought this on yourself." the man purred, giving the little girl an almost soft look. "Don't you remember, how I cared for you? Don't you remember how I talked to you on those dark nights when you were all alone? Have you forgotten what your mother did to you?"

Isabel began to stand up shakily, "please stop!" she gasped, her face turning red.

"Do you see Eric? Do you see what you've done? You care for her! This is your fault! You are **EVIL**! You hurt everything you love, that's just your nature! **YOU** were the one who wanted to ride the steamship the day it crashed, **YOU **were the one who sent Gwendolyn away, and **YOU **are the one who has led your dear uncle right to me! No, little Isabel, I am no longer your uncle Ralph. I have trained for a long time for this moment, and ever after you will call me **Dreamspinner**!"

_The room was spinning. Bright lights were flashing and becoming one with the once dark stone walls. Everything was changing, transforming. The floor gave way, and Cat found himself floating in mid-air. _

_He fell, plunging into darkness, only to land on something soft and bouncy. It was like the net preformers had fallen on at a carnival Cat had once been to. He looked around, and realized he WAS at a circus of some sort. He was a PREFORMER! Cat looked down to find himself dressed in bright reds and yellows. He blushed when he saw an immense crowd watching him._

_Isabel was standing on the typerope platform, smiling down at the crowd. Her breathing was normal, and she actually seemed to be HAPPY! She strutted across the rope like a princess, and climbed down to a man dressed in rainbow silks. RALPH!_

_In one hand the man had the biggest cone of cotton candy Cat had ever seen, The other held a bunch of ballons. Isabel took the candy and ballons, smiling. Ralph picked her up and carried her onto another platform, the only one without a safety net. Cat stared in horror as Ralph **TOSSED** her off the platform._

_Cat ripped off one of his shirtsleeves, "**HELP HER!**" But the cloth couldn't get there on time, and Isabel fell to the groung with a sickening **thump.**_

_A rage boiled in Cat that he'd only felt once before. "YOU &$(! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" A raging fire was burning inside of Cat, It was so hot that he could feel his insides turning to ash! **He** **HAD TO control it!**_

_"Come with me Eric! **I **will take you away from this. Come with me, or feel the wrath!" It was Ralph._

_Cat could hardly bare the searing pain, but he had to! If he didn't, all would be lost. But if he didn't let out this fire, this magic, Cat knew he would burst from within. He wanted to think, but there wasn't any time. In an instant, Cat decided._

_He turned toward Ralph, arms raised. "I'm sorry." he whispered to Isabel, to Chrestomanci, to his dead parents, to his sister. "I'm sorry."_

_Then, tears in his eyes, Cat turned on Ralph. He raised his arms as high as they would go, feeling every ounce of the power behind them. Ralph was bowing and grinning like an idiot at the audiance. He saw no threat in Cat's actions. Just a stupid little boy, with his stupid little tricks._

_Cat screamed as he threw his arms down, feeling all of his power and strength leave him in a wild rush of magic and passion. The sounds and sights around him began to swirl and buzz. "I'm sorry." he whispered again, as he fell to the ground. "I'm sorry."_


End file.
